Posted on by Alexie Linn

Is Spelling and Grammar Your Friend?

Is Spelling and Grammar You Friend? Did you catch that? Did you stop reading and want to fix it?

I have great news! You don’t have to. And you don’t have to be an English teacher to write a top-notch book. But you do have to know how to present a clean, clear, reader-friendly story to get top-notch reviews.

Coming up is two easy ways to polish your ‘spelling and grammar’ for clarity and happy readers.

But first I’ll tell you a story of my own about a book I just paid money for and read.

Is Spelling and Grammar You Friend?

The book promised to show me how to write, publish, and sell videobooks. There were two major problems:

  1. It was really a book of links and how-to’s for ranking on You Tube and Google. And promoting his choices of editors and producers.
  2. The spelling was so bad that I had to stop reading to figure out what the author was saying… like ‘you’ for ‘your’. SEO doesn’t call these STOP words, but I do. I had to continually stop learning and rewrite the sentence to understand what he meant to say.

The result of these problems?

I’ll give his book 3 stars because he did have some good points in the how-to’s. But I’ll take off one star for the not giving what he promised in the title and description. And deduct another star for the spelling and grammar.

AND I feel cheated; ripped off; defrauded. I won’t buy another book by this author. That’s significant and crucial. I can’t trust him to keep his promise.

Having gotten that rant off my chest, here’s the two easy methods to rid your story of my personal ‘STOP’ words.

1. Your word processing program has ‘spelling and grammar’ checks as well as ‘readability’ scores and wordcounts.

I currently write in Word. The ‘Review’ tab is where I find ‘Spelling and Grammar’ check for the entire document. It does the work. You and I reap the rewards. Easy Peasy and how I’ve earned the ‘Quality Book Award’. Have you found and used your spell-check yet?

2. Hemingway gives ‘readability’ scores by grade level and more.

I suggest Hemingway because it offers a free version that’s quick and easy to check for adverbs, passive words, and hard-to-read sentences. But there are more to choose from if you want to spiral deeper into grammar.

One is Pro Writing Aid and another is Grammarly. Both of these also have a free version. Check them out and go with what works best for you. But do something to encourage reader-friendly prose.

Sadly, I can’t suggest a quick and easy program to give you a heads-up for an on-point title and description.  That’s one you’ll have to figure out on your own. But please do that, too. Perhaps a beta reader that will give you quality feedback… another human? If you’re a one-person show, let your manuscript cool; step outside of it; and answer the questions from a new perspective.

Do I feel better now? Only if I’ve helped you see how important ‘spelling and grammar’ and on-point titles and descriptions are. Have I painted the picture in enough detail?

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S.  Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

BUT! If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Holy Tornados, Batman! Where’d the Time-to-Write Go?

Holy Tornados, Batman! Where’d the time go?

Does this ever happen to you?

I climbed out of bed 5-minutes ago; got dressed for productive writing; started the coffee; booted the laptop; lit Mr. Heater… No wait… I climbed out of bed 32-minutes ago…

The good news is that the coffee is brewed; Word is updating; Wifi gigs have been added; and I’m staring at this blog post template… wondering what inspiring prose I’m going to share about time management.

Snagging time-to-write is a feat to be conquered daily. Thirty-some books later, here’s what I’ve learned:

  1. Nobody’s going to do it for you
  2. Nobody’s going to do it for you
  3. And, in case you missed the memo; Nobody’s going to do it for you

You get to decide:

Make Time-To-Write
  • When your most productive time to string words on paper is
    • Morning
    • Afternoon
    • Evening
    • Night
  • Where you’re the most productive word stringer
    • At a desk
    • Poolside
    • In bed
  • How your tale goes together
    • Beginning; Middle; or End first
    • From an outline (skeleton or detailed)
    • Description first then fill in the blanks
  • And your most productive writing style
    • Word-by-word; line-by-line; editing as you go
    • 5,000 words a day of gibberish that you then edit, edit, edit
    • A chapter a day… maybe two or three…

Then follow through with what works for you.

The key to my time-to-write productivity is:

  • 2-8 AM. It’s dark and the only interruptions are the mechanics of computer and internet; the wind flapping a tarp; and the rain pelting or whispering on the roof. Okay, maybe a coyote howling or dogs barking at something out of place. But the long-term persona breakers of people, telephones, and outside activity is quelled.
  • At a desk (or kitchen table).
  • From a skeleton outline – then a description.
  • 1k to 2k words a day with rough edits along the way.

It’s on me to make this time and place available. If I have to get snippy to do it, then so be it. Creating stories that teach, give a laugh, and entertain is fulfilling a critically important purpose in my life. And everyone else’s I can touch through my books.

Ditto for you and your publishing endeavors.

Don’t let anybody (including your own thoughts) through their words or actions, tell you your time-to-write isn’t important.

This doesn’t mean I’m a drill Sargent, although I’ve been accused of being one when it comes to my time-to-write (and a few other things). But I get more growls than salutes while those barger-inners succumb to my wishes.

Of course, there are days I don’t boot the computer or write a word. But not many. And when I’m between books, I tend to the business of being an author… promoting; writing blogs; researching; paying the bills. But I still start the day with a pot of fresh, hot coffee. And the written in stone determination is the same. I’m a writer! Prove it!

On that note… Whether you’re writing Your Fascinating Family History or The Scarecrow Who Was Afraid of Birds, making the time to get it done is paramount to you and your readers. Just do it! 😊

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S.  Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

BUT! If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on by Alexie Linn

How To Publish on D2D

How To Self (Indie) Publish on Draft 2 Digital

The Draft 2 Digital publishing platform couldn’t be easier. Really.

It costs you nothing, zero, nada, to publish on D2D. It’s free to sign-up and free to publish. Royalty payments to you are paid monthly for most distributors. My royalties are deposited right into Paypal. No fuss, no muss. It just happens. Yay!

Once you sign-up, it’s a simple step-by-step process to upload your story, including Style choices that D2D applies to your manuscript.
alexielinnauthor..com

Your upload then appears magically in oodles of Ebook markets like Barnes and Noble, Scribd, Hoopla, and so on and so on. Including Amazon.

One critical note:

If you upload separately to Amazon Kindle, do not select the KDP Select program. If you enroll your book in the KDP Select program, you cannot offer the same book anywhere else but through Amazon.

D2D also works with Findaway Voices to offer your book as an Audiobook. AND Print books are in the near future… but as a sign-up for the Beta Print List at this writing.

D2D and Smashwords are becoming joined. I will not include Smashwords sign-up anywhere in this site.

If I had to choose only one publishing platform, it would be D2D because its markets are so profuse. But I use both D2D and Amazon Kindle to grab as many reader’s attention as I can.

Sign-up here for Draft 2 Digital indie publishing.

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S.  Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks……Free Audiobooks…..

Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

BUT! If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Publisher Rocket Saves the Day

Sales and Promotion – Amazon KDP

What’s KDP? KDP is an acronym for Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon’s indie publishing platform. It’s easy to sign up and upload your indie books to KDP.

Amazon’s KDP is a huge market with a gargantuan membership to get your book(s) in front of!

Competition to get your book found is astronomical. But there are a couple of options to help close the gap and get your works discovered by interested readers.

It’s called promote and advertise. And it’s title specific.

Access the promote and advertise link through each of your published books that you want to promote in your KDP bookshelf.

When you click the promote and advertise link inside the promote and advertise section, it takes you to a page where you can choose to run a price promotion or an ad campaign.

While I do give away books to avid readers and reviewers, Amazon is not my chosen medium for giveaways. Amazon is the place I want to have them flash before reader’s eyes time after time after time. I skip the price promotion and choose the ‘ad campaign’. This is the method that puts your book in the ‘You might also like’ ribbon sections of a product the customer is perusing.

Where your book shows up in the ribbon is based on your bid for clicks. High bids per click come first. Lowest bids per click come in at the end. You pay by the click, not by the impression (aka flash). Get the picture?

What products your covers show up in the ribbon for is determined by keywords and/or other book ASIN’s that you can choose.

How do I choose which keywords or products?

I found a great little program that saves me hours and days of making lists from online research. Dave, the KDP Guru that I’m so glad I found, also offers several lessons – both free and paid – to show you how to be proficient at running an effective KDP ad campaign.

I love the program so much that I affiliated with Dave, the KDP Guru, to offer it to you right here in this post.

The program is called ‘Publisher Rocket’.

Publisher Rocket literally saved me hours and days of research, compiling, sorting and typing.

It’s easy to use… type a word; click, sort and download. Voila! A viable list of keywords and applicable book ASINs appear. You simply copy and paste to your KDP campaign. Pffft… it’s so easy-peasy. And you can  Get Publisher Rocket here.

Incidentally, I don’t run ad campaigns for all of my books. I run campaigns for one book from each series and trade them out for different covers after a time. This gives me a better handle on what gets buyers attention and saves me oodles of time and money.

When I started promoting with ad campaigns, my books got found and bought on Amazon.

Before Publisher Rocket and KDP Ad Campaigns, grabbing reader’s attention was like pulling hen’s teeth .

I’m still not a millionaire, but I’m closer to becoming one.

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Since this new, finely focused blog is just getting started, the easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Oops! Another ‘One More Thing’… Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your listening and reviewing pleasure.

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Audiobooks the Talk

Sales and Promotion – Audiobooks

The wind has laid. The clouds have cleared. It’s 37 degrees precisely. The weather is as near perfect as it can be in February, 2022 at the third winding down of this pandemic that won’t die. I may even consider going into a store today without looking like a bandit. Consider being the key word.

alexielinnauthor.com
Now available in Audible

On top of that, ‘Scarecrow Gets Three Wishes’ is now published. ‘Azalia’s Bizarre Dilemma’ is being narrated by voice genius, Reanna Harrison. ‘Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid’, a Vella Serial, is uploaded and running… But I feel heavy-hearted. Why?

‘Duh’, I say to myself with a dusting slap up-side the head, ‘now you have to promote and sell.’

 I hate selling myself and my works! But it’s a necessary evil that I’m ever-so-slowly getting better at…

One way I promote story visibility and sales is to turn each book into an audiobook.

There are a few options to get that job done. I use ACX Audible. Here’s why:

ACX Audible offers more than one method to pay talented storytellers that turn action words into dynamic 3D action with their voices.

There are plusses and minuses to each service. Check them out for yourself with a Google search for ‘audiobook services’ and go with what works for you.

Whichever service you choose, know that it takes a couple of months and a tad of work to take a book from print to a finished audiobook. Once the audiobook is finished and available for sale, promoting and getting it found begins.

Oh joy.

Audiobook Promo Codes lighten the load. Knowing how to use them lightens it even more.

ACX Audible assigns authors promo codes for free review copies of the story. The codes are very effective. But only if you get them out there in the world and redeemed by readers.

Here’s what I’ve found to be the simplest and most productive distribution method.

I’m currently a member of two Facebook groups (Cozy Mystery Audiobook Lovers and the brand-new Audible Lovers Cornucopia) that gives authors, narrators, and listeners a place to post and redeem the free promo codes. The Cornucopia is open to all genres and audiobook services.

Readers, writers, and listeners deserve the opportunity to get in on your best work. Offer it in any form available to you.

And, unless you’re a celebrity, include audiobooks in your sales toolbox.

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Since this new, finely focused blog is just getting started, the easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Oops! Another ‘One More Thing’… Click here to join our Audible Lovers Cornucopia group. It’s free and where you’ll find links to Free Audibles for your posting, listening and reviewing pleasure.

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Serials Are Not Cereals

The Serial – That’s Serial, Not Cereal

Serials have been making a snail’s pace comeback. What’s a Serial?

A Serial is like a TV soap opera that you read. But it can move faster and have an end before the next millennium.

alexielinnauthor
A Serial to read with your Cereal

Serials are touted as entertainment on the run because you buy and read one episode at a time.

Vella serials are particularly suited to read on a smartphone and accessed through an App. Vellas cannot be downloaded to an E-reader like Kindle.

Episodes are purchased with tokens or ‘coins’, depending on the App.

Serials can, at the author’s discretion, become available in ebook and print version 30-days down the road. If you fell in love with a Serial, watch the author’s website and blog; follow the author wherever you can; or, better yet, tell the author you’d like to own it in book form. They’ll love you for it. 😊

Three reasons to indie publish a Serial are:

  1. Test Run – Get the feedback of whether readers are interested in your book’s topic before you compile, edit, and publish 100,000 + or – words.
  2. Build an audience – Perspective readers can ‘try before they buy’ your prose in more expensive and committed formats.
  3. Editing – Vella is my experience. It’s easy-peasy to edit one tiny episode of a Serial; while editing one chapter of a book entails several more steps and rereads of the entire project. The tradeoff is that Serials are uploaded one episode at a time.

Three reasons to read Serials:

  1. Give the author a test run. Do you and their prose click?
  2. Read an episode while you’re eating your cereal – or waiting for the bus – or stuck in traffic.
  3. Read it on your smartphone. No other devices or a book to carry around with you.

Three places to upload your Serial to…

  1. KDP/Vella –an Amazon company. Here’s where to find my latest Serial, Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid.
  2. Byliner Serials – A Barnes and Noble offering.
  3. Jukepop Serials – An indie publisher.

A Google search will give you 337,000,000 more details and options to choose from.

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Since this new, finely focused blog is just getting started, the easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

But if you’d like to own this story in book form, send me an email here!

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Plots Rule

Plots Rule!

A story, fact or fiction, is mush without action at every corner. But too much action only makes thicker glop.

Too much action is so much thick Glop…

Whether I’m writing a How-to or a tale, it’s characters and their antics (the plot) that make the read get read.

Say you’re writing a family history. Even Uncle George, twice removed, has a personality. He had an occupation. He had physical and emotional dimension. Turn Uncle George into a character and let him write his own story. But be careful. You’re not remaking Uncle George in your own image. Help him be himself. Here’s how:

  • If he’s short for his age, let him figure out how to reach the paint can on the top shelf; but include the words that identify your imagination at work. Such as:
    • I, being short, can see him sticking a stack of books on a chair to reach the paint can some impish tall person stuck on the top shelf.
    • Short people, especially men, are taunted for their minimal stature. Uncle George was probably teased all his life about being height compromised. His brother, Uncle Jim, could have intentionally placed tools on the top shelf just to make him mad.
    • At 5’4”, Uncle George could fit into tiny places where others could not go.
  • If he was sickly, imagine the frustration he must have lived daily when he couldn’t run out and play with others.
  • If Uncle George was an ornery sort; was married several times; or was never married, use your best guesses as to why he was the way he was. But label it as your best guess. A could be. Unless you want to destroy your credibility, never state fiction – your imagination at work – as fact. Be clear, but make it fun.

Use scenery if it forwards the story. Dense forest, albeit beautiful, is boring unless it slams at least one character with a wall so thick he/she/ or they cannot escape through. Or if a character can use it for cover from their antagonist. OR if the heady, soothing aroma of the pine forest tells the blind person where they are… Get the picture?

Detail the weather if it requires the characters to slog through or hide from. A monsoon storm is just a noisy, dusty, wet storm – until it maroons my children and I with no way out and darkness racing in on us.

Lucky for us, there are several books available to goose the writer’s imagination to build plot. They don’t write the book for you, but they smash through the block when it’s time for action.

Start with search engines for plot generators.

But search engines aren’t your only option.

For those of us who don’t always have Google and other search engines at their fingertips, here’s where you can grab books – even a deck of cards (an affiliate link)– to bust through writer’s block and get more meat into your story. Snag the book or cards now, before you head out to your mountain top retreat with no internet.

On that note…

Happy Trails and Tales,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Since this finely focused blog is just getting started, the easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid

Great News! Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid is available in E-book, Print (large print and fine print) and in Audible!

Read it Now at Amazon
Read it Now, Direct from the author
Read it Now at your other favorite retailer
And now… Click HERE to GRAB it on Google Play Books!
sally the loner meets the sourdough kid cover

Description

Sally loves being the boss of everything. She also loves living alone. But now, stuck and in excruciating pain with every effort to move, she asked herself, ‘What is it that goes before a fall? Oh, yeah, PRIDE!’

So, what happens when this spunky, resourceful 87-year-old woman gets sent to an Alzheimer’s care center instead of rehab for her broken hip?

Enter 12-year-old Bobby, who’s losing his own sourdough queen granny to Alzheimer’s. Bobby and Sally are both stuck in a nursing home for Alzheimer’s patients. The two click like peanut butter and jam.

How this Story Came to be…

Sally, the Loner has been itching to be discovered through the last few books I’ve written. But there was never a place for her because she’s a loner, like so many of us.

Then the day came that cousin Margaret fell, broke her hip, had surgery, got moved to a rehab and lost track of. Nobody knew what rehab she was moved to. And Sally was off and running, writing her own story in the way that characters do.

Buy it Now at Amazon
Buy it Now at your other favorite retailer
Or Buy your eBook Now Direct from the author!

It’s a fun and interesting read… Keep reading for important reader info…

P.S. The easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Oh! And another ‘One More Thing’…

I forgot I have a You Tube Channel. It even contains a smattering of videos… including The Video Trailer for Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid. Check it out here.

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Writer, Meet Your Publisher

Writer, Meet Your Publisher

You can write reams and reams of manuscripts, articles, and papers, but if you don’t publish, turn them into books, you’ve, essentially, written a mountain-size journal. So, how will you share your work with the world? Who is your publisher?

Is this your publisher?

Will you:

  • Self-publish – aka become an Indie Author?
  • Pay a Vanity, Hybrid or Subsidy publisher?
  • Or Mainstream (Commercially) publish?

Here’s what I’ve learned about each of the options:

Self-publish

To self-publish – or Indie Author – is to

  • Write the story
  • Edit – or cause to have edited
  • Format – for ebook and/or print, including the cover
  • Upload – the formatted file to Indie Author services like Amazon Kindle, Draft 2 Digital, Smashwords…
  • Promote – Start a website, advertise, post to social media sites, set-up at street fairs and bookstores… travel the world and solve murders if you want…

You manage the whole tomato, from planting to packaging to harvesting, including hiring expert help when necessary. You are in total control of each aspect. And you decide your time and money budget for each step. You know exactly who to blame if your book isn’t getting found.

Vanity, Hybrid, or Subsidy Publishing

In the old days, before the internet and print on demand, authors who hired a vanity publisher were stigmatized because mainstream publishers had rejected their manuscript. They were also swindled — a bunch.

My how times have changed!

Vanity, aka hybrid or subsidy publishers, carry much of the load. But buyer beware… there’s a boatload of scammers out there, itching to pocket your publishing rights and cash.

If you should decide to enter this dodgy world of shops, your job is to:

  • Write the story
  • Make suggested corrections to the story
  • Promote and sell; promote and sell; promote and sell…
  • Pay the publisher for editing, formatting and printing. Sometimes buy lots of books.

Tiffany Hawks has written a very fine article that details what to look for – and look out for — in a hybrid publisher. It’s worth the read. And, according to Ms Hawks, yes, Virginia, there really are reputable hybrid publishers on hand.

Mainstream or Commercial Publishers

The bane of an up-and-coming writer… the publishing houses that pay you thousands of dollars upfront and forevermore to write, edit, and galley-proof your book. If Jessica Fletcher is a truthful facsimile, book signings are the only promoting and selling a writer has to do while they socialize, world travel, and solve murders. Don’t count on it. I’ve seen James Patterson on a few TV commercials for his latest books these days.

But I digress.

If you’ve ever perused a Writer’s Market, you’ve seen there are upwards of 1,882 publishers just in the United States. But to get one’s attention and a book contract (and a check) in your hot little hand requires:

  • Queries before stories
  • Usually, but not always, a literary agent
  • Supreme insight as to what subjects and genres they’re looking for
  • The patience of Job

It’s not their fault. Publishers have to make a living and cover the overhead, too. They have their own crap-shoot to deal with.

Remember this. Rejections are not a black mark on you! But rather, your current submission is not what is on their list of current needs. It’s that simple.

While I’ve sold to mainstream publishers, I’ve found that being an Indie Author is much less on-the-edge-of-my-seat work for a bigger payoff. And I get to be boss. But, by all means, give it a shot! Maybe you’ll hit 7 or 11 the first time out.

And that ends your introduction to publishing. There’s more to come on this subject. But this is a blog, not a book…yet.

Happy Publishing,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Since this new, finely focused blog is just getting started, the easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find and follow me on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!

Posted on by Alexie Linn

Genre — Huh?

Genre – What’s Yours?

There’s genre, and there’s categories. They’re the same but completely different.

Category is who it is written for. Who is the person enjoying your story? Is it an adult or a juvenile? A man or a woman? Is it a child or young adult?

Who is the person reading your book?

Genre is the form, subject matter, or style that it is written in.

Such as:

  • Fiction
    • Action
    • Adventure
    • Mystery
  • Nonfiction
    • How-to
    • History
    • Biography

Then there are subgenres. Two subgenres would be ‘Cozy’ or ‘Erotica’. Both are important for the prospective reader to know before they dole out their hard-earned cash for the story. It goes to the value of the entertainment and your reputation.

A Cozy Mystery is generally light, usually includes a recipe or three, and could be a ‘G’ to ‘PG-14’ rating. They are quick reads that don’t like to be put on hold, but great for a distraction in one’s chaotic life.

Erotica, on the other hand, is rated ‘R’ and into the ‘X’s’.

A reader who is expecting ‘Cozy’ and winds up with ‘Erotica’ probably won’t buy another of your bestsellers.

The same goes for one who is anticipating ‘Erotica’ and finds they have to solve a murder or taste a cake.

I argue the genre issue with each new book I write. Here’s why:

The Joan Freed Life-Changing Mystery/Adventure series is – to me – a cozy mystery and adventure. Heavy on the adventure.

I choose Cozy because there’s no vulgar language or explicit sexual scenes. But there have been readers who questioned my Cozy classification. I can only guess at the reason for the question… namely, not every book contains recipes.

The good news is that I get to choose. I say Cozy because my books are just good clean fun mystery and adventure – with a few life-coaching twists thrown in for good measure. You are welcome to share your thoughts on the subject – in a Cozy manner, please. 😊

My aim is satisfied, repeat readers. Get as close as you can to the genre you choose, but be willing to change if you find out you’re in the wrong pew.  I am.

Happy Genre Choosing,

Alexie Linn

P.S. Since this new, finely focused blog is just getting started, the easiest way to get updates is to follow this blog and  follow me on Facebook.  New posts should appear on the Alexie Linn page – if I’ve held my mouth right… 😊

If you only want updates and pre-order deals of new releases of Books, Vellas and Audibles, the easiest way is to follow me on Amazon. When you get an email notice of a new book release, simply ask for it by the title – or for all the Alexie Linn authored titles at your favorite retailer.

And just one more thing. Here’s where to find me, follow me, and get deals on Goodreads. Please do to get in on all that Goodreads has to offer. Goodreads is always at the very best price. It’s FREE!